SUNY Cortland Athletics

When asked how athletics has affected his life, John Reardon responded, "Athletics has affected my life in one way or another for the past 39 years (since I was 12) - it literally has been the greater portion of my life. Many people in the field of athletics have influenced my performance and above all my thinking during these years and I am eternally grateful for it. They instilled in me some of the intangibles that ultimately shaped my life and made it all worthwhile. They made the claim that sport is a matter of character, rather than reward. It is an end in itself and not a means to an end and offers the highest grade of happiness to man on the most convenient terms available anywhere. They exposed you to what sportsmanship and fairness was all about and that self-improvement was an on-going process throughout my life. These ideals nurtured by balance made me want to emulate them and pass what I experience to others as a physical education teacher, coach and finally athletic director."

The Physical Education-Recreation Center on the Cortland campus has been artistically enhanced with a series of three-dimensional paper reliefs which adorn the walls of the building's main conference room. The art forms, all of which portray an athlete in action, are the work of John Reardon '50. The idea started for the series when Reardon was visiting the campus several years ago and was discussing the building of the PER Center with Dr. Robert Weber, chairman of the Men's Physical Education Department at that time. "I volunteered to do the art work which I hoped would reflect in a single setting all the varsity sports played at the College," Reardon explained.

When asked to single out his "biggest athletic thrill" while at Cortland, Reardon stated: "Although football was the sport I enjoyed most and realized the most success in, it was in wrestling that I experienced my 'biggest athletic thrill.' This happened back in 1948-49 when we wrestled Syracuse just after they had won the Eastern Intercollegiate title. With the score 14-11, Syracuse, it came up to the heavyweight bout. I lucked out and decisioned my opponent 6-4 in the last minute to tie the team score 14-14. The biggest thrill came when the over exhuberant home crowd swooped down from the stands and carried me off on their shoulders."

UPDATE: Reardon passed away on March 1, 2011.